Sturgis
Grumbler
Hello,
This is not "framing specific" but might be of interest to small business owners. Last year I purchase a Fujitsu ScanSnap 1500M document scanner and paired it with DevonThink Pro software. While the ScanSnap scanners are made for either Windows or Mac, the DevonThink software is only for Mac.
Anyway, this has been a real help in getting more organized. I scan almost everything that comes across my desk (within reason, of course). Invoices, bills, packing slips, framing orders and documentation, magazine articles, handwritten notes, etc. For example, when I receive PFM each month, I pull the staples out, then cut about 1/4 inch off the binding (to separate the pages) and put the whole thing in the scanner. Only takes a couple of minutes.
Business cards...I scan them and throw them away. Bank and credit card statements. Equipment manuals, we have a poor history of keeping track of all the manuals. Now I scan them.
The ScanSnap automatically scans both the front and back of the page.
Then, it's all transferred to DevonThink where the real magic happens. DevonThink performs OCR (optical character recognition) which means you can later search your database for these documents. Also, you don't have to scan items to get them in the database, you can drop in PDF's, photos, emails, spreadsheets, just about anything.
Of course, you'll want to set up a logical file structure for DevonThink, just as you would in any office. But here's the cool part, once you file something in a certain place the software uses artificial intelligence to file the same data in the future. For example, I get about 10 different electric bills each month, both business and personal. Each one gets filed in it's appropriate location. Even though all the electric bills look identical the software can identify which bill is for which company and knows where to file it!
What does all this mean in the real world? We sell gifts in our store. One time a few months ago a small billing discrepancy developed with one of our suppliers. They said I owned them a couple hundred dollars which didn't show up in my accounting. This involved a complicated group of invoices totaling maybe 50 pages and thousands of items. Normally, it would be easier for me to "trust" their accounting and just pay the disputed amount. Instead, I searched the Devon database for the amount in question and lo and behold I discover that they billed me for an item that was backordered and never delivered according to their packing slips. I can't imaging how agonizing it would be to sort through all that paperwork by hand and try to figure that one out.
One last thing. Like a lot of people, I jot down a lot of notes. If they're for a customer, they get scanned and filed into that customer's folder in DevonThink. Being able to recall these notes months or years later has been a real lifesaver on more than one occasion.
Sorry for writing a novel here, but after a lifetime of running several small businesses I can't say enough good things about having a document scanner on your desk and the amazing DevonThink software to make it all work.
Thanks,
Bob
This is not "framing specific" but might be of interest to small business owners. Last year I purchase a Fujitsu ScanSnap 1500M document scanner and paired it with DevonThink Pro software. While the ScanSnap scanners are made for either Windows or Mac, the DevonThink software is only for Mac.
Anyway, this has been a real help in getting more organized. I scan almost everything that comes across my desk (within reason, of course). Invoices, bills, packing slips, framing orders and documentation, magazine articles, handwritten notes, etc. For example, when I receive PFM each month, I pull the staples out, then cut about 1/4 inch off the binding (to separate the pages) and put the whole thing in the scanner. Only takes a couple of minutes.
Business cards...I scan them and throw them away. Bank and credit card statements. Equipment manuals, we have a poor history of keeping track of all the manuals. Now I scan them.
The ScanSnap automatically scans both the front and back of the page.
Then, it's all transferred to DevonThink where the real magic happens. DevonThink performs OCR (optical character recognition) which means you can later search your database for these documents. Also, you don't have to scan items to get them in the database, you can drop in PDF's, photos, emails, spreadsheets, just about anything.
Of course, you'll want to set up a logical file structure for DevonThink, just as you would in any office. But here's the cool part, once you file something in a certain place the software uses artificial intelligence to file the same data in the future. For example, I get about 10 different electric bills each month, both business and personal. Each one gets filed in it's appropriate location. Even though all the electric bills look identical the software can identify which bill is for which company and knows where to file it!
What does all this mean in the real world? We sell gifts in our store. One time a few months ago a small billing discrepancy developed with one of our suppliers. They said I owned them a couple hundred dollars which didn't show up in my accounting. This involved a complicated group of invoices totaling maybe 50 pages and thousands of items. Normally, it would be easier for me to "trust" their accounting and just pay the disputed amount. Instead, I searched the Devon database for the amount in question and lo and behold I discover that they billed me for an item that was backordered and never delivered according to their packing slips. I can't imaging how agonizing it would be to sort through all that paperwork by hand and try to figure that one out.
One last thing. Like a lot of people, I jot down a lot of notes. If they're for a customer, they get scanned and filed into that customer's folder in DevonThink. Being able to recall these notes months or years later has been a real lifesaver on more than one occasion.
Sorry for writing a novel here, but after a lifetime of running several small businesses I can't say enough good things about having a document scanner on your desk and the amazing DevonThink software to make it all work.
Thanks,
Bob
